The Ten Smartest Poker Players

[VanVeen]

"Finally there is a guy who wanted to bet money that he would outscore me on the combined results of a few different types of standarized multiple choice IQ correlated tests"

Accepting challenges of this sort from random lurkers on your fora is, as I'm sure you're aware, less than prudent. It costs a mere pittance for the would-be challenger to meet with a psychometrician beforehand to establish whether or not the bet has a positive expectation. With this in mind, I can only assume you're joking when you intimate that you'd be willing to accept such a wager. Nevertheless, if you're not, let me know what conditions you'll agree to (can I get staked?) and we can have an "IQ Showdown". I have scores on three standardized tests of intelligence (Cattell CF Forms A+B, SB V, MAT) that I'm certain you cannot beat, so just lemme know. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[skp]

Good post. David just says goofy things every now and then to stir up some interesting copy.

[felson]

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Finally I’d like to point out that the US’s economic power over the past century really isn’t attributable to an American strength in engineering and physics. Creativity and risk-taking have long been a part of American economic success, and this is the only reason why China’s economic dominance in the next 20-30 years is not absolutely assured.

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Bob Solow received the Nobel prize in economics for showing that technological innovation is the primary driver of economic growth. I am not sure exactly what your second sentence is supposed to mean, but the first one is not completely correct.

[Redsox]

as far as your point of what would happen if the top 1 percent of all people disappear...See "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. Anyone who thinks that the best and or brightest in this country go into politics clearly haven't seen the pay difference between the private sector and public service.

[david050173]

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perhaps, but CS is not like that at MIT. CS isn't easy, its just that physics is insane.

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I guess I should also amend that to minimal math to mean that they don't have to do differential equations up. Just that easy calculus and discrete math stuff. That is my expereince of talking to CS grads from princeton, berkeley, stanford, darthmouth, anda few other decent CS schools. I know Cal tech is a bit different and it wouldn't suprise me that IIT and MIT are the that boat also

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David - At UT Austin I had to take all the higher maths, but I believe this was simply because the degree had a BS option instead of a BA. The degree is much more applide logic than anyhting else.

As a side not I'm adding on currently at UW. While the program is highly rated by USNews the course work is quite easy compared to what I went through at UT, of course I don't program with a hangover anymore either.

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I went to UW for grad school (not in CS but the AA program which was highly rated) and I wasn't impressed. I only looked briefly at the UT site but it looks to me like they are requiring basic calc (which a lot of people find impossible) not partial differiental equations. I may not have been too clear in that I ment PDE and ODE not just the normal derivatives that you do in high school calc. UT may also have a computer engineering program (tends to be closer to EE) and I expect most of them require more advanced math. I can also be misreading the UT course guide.

The big joke is that most (not all) programming jobs (ie what most CS majors do) have very little to do with CS. Still a very fun way to make a living if you like solving logic problems.

[Poolgod32]

It is only because of the very smartest people that we live in the world we do (planes , TVs, antibiotics, etc). Without that top one percent or so we would have advanced little above caveman

Yes and they also created the atomic bomb, nerve gas, ICBMs and all sorts of nasty little weapons that enable us to kill each other more effectively. I think that one can argue that some of the advancements made during the 2oth century might well lead to our downfall. Oh I dont know the combustion engine, the use of petroleum with its associated pollution side effects, the deforestation of the rain forests not to mention the wiping out of many species of plants and animals may do irreparable harm to our planet. We are only beginning to discover how much damage has been done.
These people often let their intellectual prowess outrrun their morality and ethics. I hardly think we couldnt survive without them. It would be a world much simpler and basic which is perhaps not such a bad thing

[Joe Tall]

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The point of my question is to figure out what qualities Phil Ivey has other than his "smarts" that allow him to play better than the "smartest" players.

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The long run is longer than you/I/them could ever think,

[ThaSaltCracka]

Clearly I am the smartest poker player.

thread ended.

[jakuda]

Since when was Princeton a top CS school?....

[jakuda]

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.....You should choose to go to an intellectual sweatshop where unless your life is books and numbers you will graduate middle of the class and have no fun or social life and of course have less opportunities post grad.

I do understand that MIT grads have ample opportunites to go to grad schools and the like but the most lucrative grad schools are generally Med and Law..I dont think majoring in Physics at MIT is a great preparation for either. I am also sad to say MIT grads didnt seem to hold their own in 1990's start ups that made zillions...Stanford, Illinois and even GT/bERKELY guys seemed to be much better entrepaneurs anecdotally.

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First of all you forgot b-school.
Lots of math, science, engineering majors from top undergrad programs go to the top i-banks and management consulting firms then go on to top law/business schools.